The Bitter End
by Hikaru Mitsukai
Summary: The shiko-no-tama is finally finished, but unbeknownst to anyone, it may have its own plans (one shot, may include explanation chapter if necessary)


Title: The Bitter End

Summary: With the last shard of the Shiko-no-Tama found, the gang go off to defeat Naraku once and for all, but all is not what it seems as the jewel may very well have an agenda of its own…oneshot

Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha, Rumiko Takahashi does, so suing me is absolutely useless. ¬ . ¬

Word count :795

The Bitter End

Finally, all of their hard work had paid off. They had finally completed the shiko-no-tama and were now overlooking Naraku's fortress, shrouded in his filthy miasma. With the jewel on their side it was obvious that they were going to emerge victorious, for it was four to two now that Kagura was dead. And without further delay, they ran, head first into the darkness symbolic of the plague that was Naraku, weapons at the ready.

Suddenly, the thick clouds of miasma parted and who should appear but none other than Naraku, donning the apparel of the Lord of the West, his face as pale as that of his surviving spawn who obviously survived no more. InuYasha's eyes grew wide as he recognised Sesshoumaru's scent coming off Naraku, the scent of his vomit and his blood and his tears and his bile and his poisons and….

And he could not continue any longer to think of what had happened to his half brother…

His eyes began to bleed red almost instantaneously, a deep growl coming from his throat, but he was soon settled by the tama's purification powers when Kagome held it in her delicate hands, the others looking on in awe. Naraku's end was merely a whisper away, as this fermentation of absolute power began to glow even brighter as though knowing what it was to do. As if simply awaiting her simple command.

"I wish for the immediate destruction of Naraku." Kagome whispered to it, as if cooing sweet nothings into the ear of her lover. Knowing what was to happen next, they watched as his eyes widened, awaiting his immediate demise after hearing death's knell ring so softly. But to his, indeed to all their amazement…

Nothing happened…

Feeling strong knowing that the tama had failed to destroy him, he laughed at them all. The fools before him, the countless demons he absorbed to attain his insurmountable power, the useless spawns he created, and the love from his past... he laughed at them all before he set his eyes upon the destruction of the ones before him, lest the jewel actually destroy him before he ever got the chance.

His vine like tentacles extended with such speed of motion that the taijiya and the houshi were dead before they had even realised that he had moved, showing that he had in fact grown stronger since their last encounter. Much stronger, and he had every intention of testing the limits of his power on the remaining two.

Kagome watched in horror as Sango and Miroku fell to the ground dead, their insides eaten away by the caustic poisons that Sesshoumaru once used. She heard the Tetsusaiga being unsheathed and then she turned to see it fall to the ground as did its owner, golden eyes blank before being crushed into a bleeding pile of dead bones and skin, his haori stained with a black flood.

"INUYASHA!" she screeched loudly before she turned to look Naraku in his eyes for the last time, eyes filled with tears, as she weakly drew back her bowstring, purification charging through her veins, scalding her inside out like the hatred that devoured her very soul. She gazed on her friends for the last time before they were all absorbed by Naraku, his malignant cackle resonating through out the air.

"I wish for the immediate destruction of Naraku." She said more forcefully, before muttering many mantras and prayers under her breath, drawing the bowstring back to its fullest extent. She watched as her arrow fly before feeling Naraku's piercing tentacle in her gut, poisons eating away at her insides and she looked down at the thing that undoubtedly came straight through her before looking up, expecting to see a triumphant smirk on his face.

Only to realise that he was already dead…

The purification ate away at his rotting flesh, the thick miasma dissipating along with him and she saw the remains of all the unfortunate souls he absorbed. Amongst them was Kaede's eye patch, Kikyou's bow, Kohaku's mask, Kanna's mirror and the flesh of his forgotten spawn that was forged into a sword. Finally they would be able to receive eternal peace.

Kagome's fingers stroked the smooth pearl like surface of the tama for the last time, her tears blurring her vision. 'All of our dreams…' she thought as she lost all feeling in her body, and if she should awake the next day, with the sun in her face and all her friends over her as hoped it would be, she would never forget the her last sight before slipping into enticing darkness. She would not be able to forget the pang of guilt in her chest….

As she watched the almighty shiko-no-tama turn to dust and blow away….

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This was written rather hastily if you can't tell by the actions occuring and such, just a little writing exercise to evaluate myself and my writer's block. Also, this would serve as the last piece I'm posting here before I go into preparations for my Promotion Exams ( yes, school's a bitch...) and so I'm going on a temporary hiatus and should be back in about 2-3 months time at least so enjoy this and I swear that I won'tsubmit another thing untilI finish the 6th chapter of Chasing A Far Away Dream. Until then ja ne. Oh! And don't forget to submit a review!


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